Academic Safety Net

In 2022, we are still experiencing some uncertainties around COVID-19 and we want to recognise that these things might still be impacting our students. Academic Safety Net will be applied in 2022. In 2022, Academic Safety Net will provide protection against fail grade (N and DNS) only as it was the case for Academic Safety Net 2021.

This means:

• If you engage with your studies but happen to fail a unit in 2022, it will be changed to the special AS – Academic Safety Net grade
• The fail grade will be excluded from the calculation of your GPA
• The fail grade will not be recorded on your transcript. The special AS – Academic Safety Net grade will show on your transcript
• We will continue to monitor your progress even though we will not record fail grades for teaching periods in 2022. However, the fail grades will still be counted towards the calculation of your completion rate under the Job-Ready Graduates package. As always, we want to discuss next steps and to link you with tailored support and advice for future study.
• There is an exception for some practicum units required for professional accreditation, the fail grade for these units will stay in place.

An automated system to streamline Academic Safety Net for 2021 has already been applied and it will be rolled over to cover for 2022.

Academic Safety Net will be applied at Release of Results for T1 2022 or shortly thereafter and will be automatically applied to your results when they are released.

	ASN 2021	ASN 2022
Protection against fail grade (N, DNS)	Yes	Yes
Protection against passing grades having negative impact on GPA	No	No
Special Grades	AS	AS
GPA calculation and  Academic transcript	Above grade excluded from GPA calculation and recorded on students’ academic transcript	Above grade excluded from GPA calculation and recorded on students’ academic transcript
Teaching periods included	All teaching periods commencing in 2021 Teaching periods which started in 2020 and have an end date after 1/4/2021	All teaching periods commencing in 2022
Description	The goal of Academic Safety Net in 2021 is to get to a new normal state and will be applied somewhat differently. In 2021 Academic Safety Net will provide protection against fail grade/s (N and DNS) only. The fail grade will be excluded from the calculation of Grade Point Average.	The goal of Academic Safety Net in 2022 is to recognise uncertainties might still be impacting students. In 2022 Academic Safety Net will provide protection against fail grade/s (N and DNS) only. The fail grade will be excluded from the calculation of Grade Point Average.

 

If you happen to fail a unit in the teaching periods included in Academic Safety Net 2022, the Fail (N) grade will not be recorded on your transcript or negatively affect your GPA.

Instead of a Fail grade, you will get an AS - Academic Safety Net grade. The AS grade will not count towards your GPA, protecting your GPA from negative impact. However, the fail grades will still be counted towards the calculation of your completion rate under the Job-Ready Graduates package.

The following fail grades will be converted to the AS - Academic Safety Net grade:

• N (Fail and Fail due to withdrawal after teaching week 10)
• DNS (Did not Submit).

• All teaching periods which commence in 2022
• Includes all standard and non-standard teaching periods
• Applies to teaching periods at both onshore and TNE locations.

• If you happen to fail a unit, the Academic Safety Net (AS) grade will show on your academic transcript and no numerical mark will be recorded
• All passing grades (P, C, D and HD) and corresponding numerical marks will be recorded as per usual

The Academic Transcript is a complete record of all your studies at Murdoch University. It records each course you have completed, and all units must be shown even if they have received a special grade.

As a complete record of your learning, the academic transcript may be used as proof of eligibility requirements with other institutions, government or Centrelink, for example.

If you happen to fail a unit, the Fail grade will be changed to the special AS - Academic Safety Net grade and show the numerical grade achieved where available.

All passing grades (P, C, D and HD) and corresponding numerical mark achieved will show as per usual.

If you happen to fail a unit, the Fail grade will be changed to the special AS - Academic Safety Net grade and excluded from the GPA calculation.

For example,

Grade	Achievable credit points	GPA level	Achievable credit points * GPA level	Impact on GPA per ASN 2021	Final grades recorded	Final GPA
C	3	2	6	Include in GPA	C
D	3	3	9	Include In GPA	D
N	3	0	0	Exclude from GPA	AS
						2.5

GPA calculation:

GPA = Achievable credit points * GPA level/Achievable credit points

GPA = 15/6

GPA = 2.5

For more information, refer to the Grade Point Average Calculation webpage.

Yes, the AS grade identifies that the unit was impacted by the challenging circumstances; we will continue to monitor your progress even though we will not record the fail grade for the teaching period; you do have to repeat the unit if this is a required unit for your course.

Yes, you have still incurred the financial liability (fees/debt) for the unit if you get an AS grade.

No, your fees (or HELP liability for domestic students) will not be refunded for the unit if you get an AS grade.

Even though we will not record the fail grade for the teaching period, academic progression reviews will continue to apply to the AS grade; with appropriate interventions for students and an awareness of disruption to learning and wellbeing caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. While the fail grade will not be recorded on your transcript, it will still count towards your completion rate calculation under new Job-Ready Graduates package.

See below for an example of how the completion rate is calculated:

Note: Completion rate is calculated over the duration of the course and not per progression period.

Grade	Impact on GPA per ASN 2022	Final grades recorded	Outcome	Included in JRG completion rate	Completion rate (%)
Semester 1
C	Include in GPA	C	Pass	Yes
D	Include in GPA	D	Pass	Yes
N	Exclude from GPA	AS	Fail	Yes
DNS	Exclude from GPA	AS	Fail	Yes	50
Semester 2
D	Include in GPA	D	Pass	Yes
C	Include in GPA	C	Pass	Yes
N	Exclude from GPA	AS	Fail	Yes
W	Exclude from GPA	W	Withdrawn	No	57.1

Completion rate calculation:

Completion rate = (number of units passed / number of units attempted) x 100

At the end of S1:

Number of units attempted = 4

Number of units passed = 2

Completion rate = (2/4) x 100 = 50%

At the end of S2:

Number of units attempted over the course = 7

Number of units passed = 4

Completion rate = (4/7) x 100 = 57.1%

There is an exception for some practicum units that are required for professional accreditation. Fail grades for these units will remain in place. If this applies to you, please speak to your Academic Chair who can advise you accordingly.

Yes, supplementary examinations and assessments will continue as per University’s Assessment Policy. Academic Safety Net will apply to the grade recorded for the supplementary assessment or exam where the final grade is N.

If you are a Murdoch University student enrolled in a teaching period included in the Academic Safety Net 2022 (see Which teaching periods are included in Academic Safety Net 2022?) you are eligible for Academic Safety Net. Academic Safety Net is applied to coursework units only.

Academic Safety Net also applies to students enrolled through

• Open Universities Australia (OUA) programs

Academic Safety Net applies to all domestic, international and transnational students.

Academic Safety Net applies only to the coursework component of the Honours program. Assessment and grading of the non-coursework component will not change. For non-coursework components, please get in touch with your respective Academic Chair or Supervisor who can advise you accordingly.

No, Academic Safety Net will be automatically applied to all student results for the teaching periods included under the Academic Safety Net 2022. The Academic Safety Net 2022 has been established to provide protection against fail grade/s.

There is an exception for some practicum units that are required for professional accreditation. Fail grades for these units will continue to be recorded.

Course transfers would continue to run as per the normal process. If the course you wish to transfer to has special entry requirements, you will still need to meet those requirements. If you have any questions about course transfers, you can speak to myMurdoch Advice or The Student Centre for onshore support.

Singapore Student Help for offshore support in Singapore.

Dubai Student Services for offshore support in Dubai.

In 2021, we are still experiencing some uncertainties around COVID-19 and we want to recognise that these things might still be impacting our students. Hence, Academic Safety Net will be applied in 2021 as we adjust to a new normal; however, it will be applied somewhat differently. In 2021, Academic Safety Net will provide protection against fail grade (N and DNS) only.

This means:

• If you engage with your studies but happen to fail a unit in 2021, it will be changed to the special AS – Academic Safety Net grade
• The fail grade will be excluded from the calculation of your GPA
• The fail grade will not be recorded on your transcript. The special AS – Academic Safety Net grade will show on your transcript
• We will continue to monitor your progress even though we will not record fail grades for teaching periods in 2021. As always, we want to discuss next steps and to link you with tailored support and advice for future study.
• There is an exception for some practicum units required for professional accreditation, the fail grade for these units will stay in place

We’re working on an automated system to streamline Academic Safety Net for 2021. We will advise you when this occurs with further details. If you happen to have failed a unit (except for some practicum units required for professional accreditation) in a teaching period in 2021, please don’t worry. Academic Safety Net 2021 will still apply to you.

	ASN 2020	ASN 2021
Protection against fail grade (N, DNS)	Yes	Yes
Protection against passing grades having negative impact on GPA	Yes	No
Special Grades	AS, ASP, ASC, ASD	AS
GPA calculation and Academic transcript	Above grades excluded from GPA calculation and recorded on students’ academic transcript	Above grade excluded from GPA calculation and recorded on students’ academic transcript
Teaching periods included	All teaching periods commencing in 2020 where: End date is after 1st April 2020 but before 1st April 2021	All teaching periods commencing in 2021 Teaching periods which started in 2020 and have an end date after 1/4/2021
Description	The Academic Safety Net was established in 2020 to protect student Grade Point Average (GPA) from any negative changes to their academic record due to the considerable disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic	The goal of Academic Safety Net in 2021 is to get to a new normal state and will be applied somewhat differently. In 2021 Academic Safety Net will provide protection against fail grade/s (N and DNS) only. The fail grade will be excluded from the calculation of Grade Point Average.

If you happen to fail a unit in the teaching periods included in Academic Safety Net 2021, the Fail (N) grade will not be recorded on your transcript or negatively affect your GPA.

Instead of a Fail grade, you will get an AS - Academic Safety Net grade. The AS grade will not count towards your GPA, protecting your GPA from negative impact.

The following fail grades will be converted to the AS - Academic Safety Net grade:

• N (Fail and Fail due to withdrawal after teaching week 10)
• DNS (Did not Submit)

• All teaching periods which commence in 2021
• Teaching period which started in 2020 and has an end date after 1/4/2021
• Includes all standard and non-standard teaching periods
• Applies to teaching periods at both onshore and TNE locations

• If you happen to fail a unit, the Academic Safety Net (AS) grade will show on your academic transcript and no numerical mark will be recorded
• All passing grades (P, C, D and HD) and corresponding numerical marks will be recorded as per usual

The Academic Transcript is a complete record of all your studies at Murdoch University. It records each course you have completed, and hence all units must be shown even if they have received a special grade.

As a complete record of your learning, the academic transcript may be used as proof of eligibility requirements with other institutions, government or Centrelink, for example.

If you happen to fail a unit, the Fail grade will be changed to the special AS - Academic Safety Net grade and show the numerical grade achieved where available.

All passing grades (P, C, D and HD) and corresponding numerical mark achieved will show as per usual.

If you happen to fail a unit, the Fail grade will be changed to the special AS - Academic Safety Net grade and excluded from the GPA calculation.

For example,

Grade	Achievable credit points	GPA level	Achievable credit points * GPA level	Impact on GPA per ASN 2021	Final grades recorded	Final GPA
C	3	2	6	Include in GPA	C
D	3	3	9	Include In GPA	D
N	3	0	0	Exclude from GPA	AS
						2.5

GPA calculation:

GPA = Achievable credit points * GPA level/Achievable credit points
GPA = 15/6
GPA = 2.5

For more information, refer to the Grade Point Average Calculation webpage.

Yes, the AS grade identifies that the unit was impacted by the challenging circumstances; we will continue to monitor your progress even though we will not record the fail grade for the teaching period; you do have to repeat the unit if this is a required unit for your course.

Yes, you have still incurred the financial liability (fees/debt) for the unit if you get an AS grade.

No, your fees (or HELP liability for domestic students) will not be refunded for the unit if you get an AS grade.

Even though we will not record the fail grade for the teaching period, academic progression reviews will continue to apply to the AS grade; with appropriate interventions for students and an awareness of disruption to learning and wellbeing caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

There is an exception for some practicum units that are required for professional accreditation. Fail grades for these units will remain in place. If this applies to you, please speak to your Academic Chair who can advise you accordingly. 

Yes, supplementary examinations and assessments will continue as per University’s Assessment Policy. Academic Safety Net will apply to the grade recorded for the supplementary assessment or exam where the final grade is N.

If you are a Murdoch University student enrolled in a teaching period included in the Academic Safety Net 2021 (see Which teaching periods are included in Academic Safety Net 2021?) you are eligible for Academic Safety Net. Academic Safety Net is applied to coursework units only.

Academic Safety Net also applies to students enrolled through

• Open Universities Australia (OUA) programs
• FutureLearn programs

Academic Safety Net applies to all domestic, international and transnational students.

Academic Safety Net applies only to the coursework component of the Honours program. Assessment and grading of the non-coursework component will not change. For non-coursework components, please get in touch with your respective Academic Chair or Supervisor who can advise you accordingly.

No, Academic Safety Net will be automatically applied to all student results for the teaching periods included under the Academic Safety Net 2021. The Academic Safety Net 2021 has been established to provide protection against fail grade/s.

There is an exception for some practicum units that are required for professional accreditation. Fail grades for these units will continue to be recorded.

Course transfers would continue to run as per the normal process. If the course you wish to transfer to has special entry requirements, you will still need to meet those requirements.

If you have any questions about course transfers, you can speak to myMurdoch Advice or The Student Centre for onshore support. Contact Singapore Student Help for offshore support in Singapore, or Dubai Student Services for offshore support in Dubai.

Unit results for Semester 1 will be released on Monday 6 July. The Academic Safety Net will be automatically applied to your results by Monday 27 July. We will advise you when this occurs.

If you are a transnational student, the Academic Safety Net will be automatically applied to your Trimester 1 results by the Monday 27th July 2020. We will advise you when this occurs.

If you request an academic transcript before Academic Safety Net has been applied to your results, we will provide you with a letter to accompany your transcript. You can request an updated transcript when Academic Safety Net has been applied.

The Academic Safety Net has been established to protect your Grade Point Average (GPA) from any negative changes to your academic record during this challenging time. For this reason, new special grades have been introduced:

(i) If you receive lower grades than usual, your GPA will not decrease.

(ii) Any passing grades achieved during this teaching period that have a negative impact on your GPA will be changed to a special grade and will not count towards your GPA. For example:

• P (Pass) that negatively impacts your GPA will be converted to ASP - Pass Academic Safety Net
• C (Credit) that negatively impacts your GPA will be converted to ASC - Credit Academic Safety Net
• D (Distinction) that negatively impacts your GPA will be converted to ASD - Distinct Academic Safety Net

Things to note:

• The changed grades do not apply if you receive similar or better grades than before
• No changes will be made to the HD (High Distinction) grade
• Not all passing grades will have a negative impact on your GPA. Grades which do not negatively impact your GPA will continue to be recorded as normal.

(iii) If you receive similar or better grades than before, your GPA will stay the same or increase, and you will receive grades as per normal.

If you happen to fail a unit in the teaching periods included in Academic Safety Net, the Fail (N) grade will not be recorded on your transcript or negatively affect your GPA.

Instead of a Fail grade, you will get an AS - Academic Safety Net grade. The AS grade will not count towards your GPA, protecting your GPA from any negative change.

The following fail grades will be converted to the AS - Academic Safety Net grade:

• N (Fail and Fail due to withdrawal after teaching week 10)
• DNS (Did not Submit)

• Any teaching period which started in 2020 and has an end date before 1/4/2021 will be included in Academic Safety Net.
• Any teaching period which started in 2019 and has an end date after 1/4/2020 will be included in Academic Safety Net.
• Includes all standard and non-standard teaching periods.
• Applies to teaching periods at both onshore and TNE locations

Things to note:

• Teaching periods which start in 2020 and have an end date after 1/4/2021 are excluded from Academic Safety Net
• Teaching periods which start in 2020 and have an end date before 1/4/2020 are excluded from Academic Safety Net

• If you happen to fail a unit, the Academic Safety Net (AS) grade will show on your academic transcript and no numerical mark will be recorded.

• Any passing grades achieved during this teaching period that have a negative impact on your GPA will be changed to a special grade on your academic transcript and the numerical mark will be recorded.

• If you receive similar or better grades than before you will receive grades as per normal and the numerical mark will be recorded as per usual.

The Academic Transcript is a complete record of all your studies at Murdoch University. It records each course you have completed, and hence all units must be shown even if they have been impacted by the changed learning circumstances due to the pandemic.

As a complete record of your learning, the academic transcript may be used as proof of eligibility requirements with other institutions, government or Centrelink, for example.

Any passing grades achieved during this teaching period that have a negative impact on your GPA will be changed to a special grade and show the numerical grade achieved.

If you happen to fail a unit, the Fail grade will be changed to the special AS - Academic Safety Net grade and show the numerical grade achieved.

If you receive similar or better grades than before you will receive grades as per normal grading and the numerical mark achieved will show as per usual.

A Baseline GPA is determined by the combined or cumulative GPA from all teaching periods a student has undertaken prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. For each teaching period, a student’s result will be compared unit by unit to their Baseline GPA.

(i) If you receive similar or better grades than before, your GPA will remain the same or increase and will be calculated as per normal GPA calculation rules.

For example, the Baseline GPA at the start of the current teaching period for student A is 1.82 The student achieves credit (C) in the current teaching period. Grade C is equivalent of GPA 2.00. In this case, 2 > 1.82, hence 2 will be included in the GPA calculation.

(ii) If you receive lower grades than usual, your GPA will not decrease. Any passing grades achieved during this teaching period that have a negative impact on your GPA will be changed to a special grade and excluded from the GPA calculation.

For example, the Baseline GPA at the start of the current teaching period for student A is 1.82 and the student achieves pass (P) in the current teaching period. Grade P is equivalent of GPA 1.00. In this case, 1 < 1.82, hence 1 will be excluded from the GPA calculation. The Pass (P) grade will be changed to ASP – Pass Academic Safety Net

(iii) If you happen to fail a unit, the Fail grade will be changed to the special AS - Academic Safety Net grade and excluded from the GPA calculation.

For example, the Baseline GPA at the start of the current teaching period for student A is 1.82 and the student receives a fail (N) in the current teaching period. Grade N is equivalent of GPA 0.00. In this case, 0 < 1.82, hence will be excluded from the GPA calculation. The Fail (N) grade will be changed to AS –Academic Safety Net

Students enrolled for the first time in 2020 will not have a pre-existing GPA for comparison. The GPA will be calculated based on the units that are completed, excluding fail grades.

For example, if you are in your 1^st year of study and you receive a passing grade, the grade will be recorded as per normal i.e. Pass (P), Credit (C), Distinction (D), High Distinction (HD), and will be included in your GPA calculation.

If you are in your first year of study and happen to fail a unit, the grade will be changed to the special AS- Academic Safety Net grade and will be excluded from the GPA calculation.

Yes, the AS grade identifies that the unit was impacted by the challenging circumstances; we will continue to monitor your progress even though we will not record the fail grade for the teaching period; you do have to repeat the unit if this is a required unit for your course.

Yes, you have still incurred the financial liability (fees/debt) for the unit if you get an AS grade.

No, your fees (or HELP liability for domestic students) will not be refunded for the unit if you get an AS grade.

Even though we will not record the fail grade for the teaching period, academic progression reviews will continue to apply to the AS grade; with appropriate interventions for students and an awareness of disruption to learning and wellbeing caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

There is an exception for some practical units that are required for professional accreditation. Fail grades for these units will stay in place. If this applies to you, please speak to your Academic Chair who can advise you accordingly. 

Yes, supplementary examinations and assessments will continue as per University’s Assessment Policy. Academic Safety Net will apply to the grade recorded for the supplementary assessment or exam.

If you are a Murdoch University student enrolled in a teaching period included in the Academic Safety Net (see Which teaching periods are included in Academic Safety Net?) you are eligible for Academic Safety Net. Academic Safety Net is applied to coursework units only.

Academic Safety Net also applies to students enrolled through

• Open Universities Australia (OUA) programs
• FutureLearn programs

Academic Safety Net applies to domestic, international and transnational students.

Yes, Academic Safety Net applies only to the coursework component of the Honours program. Assessment and grading of the non-coursework component will not change. For non-coursework components, please get in touch with your respective Academic Chair or Supervisor who can advise you accordingly.

No, Academic Safety Net will be automatically applied to all student results for the teaching periods included under the Academic Safety Net. The Academic Safety Net has been established to protect your Grade Point Average (GPA) from any negative changes to your academic record during this challenging time.

There is an exception for some practical units that are required for professional accreditation. Fail grades for these units will continue to be recorded.

Course transfers would continue to run as per the normal process. If the course you wish to transfer to has special entry requirements, you will still need to meet those requirements.

If you have any questions about course transfers, you can speak to myMurdoch Advice or The Student Centre for onshore support. Contact Singapore Student Help for offshore support in Singapore, or Dubai Student Services for offshore support in Dubai.

If you retrospectively withdraw from a teaching period prior to COVID-19, then your course GPA will be recalculated. This means application of Academic Safety Net grades and course GPA might change.

If you receive late results for a teaching period prior to COVID-19, then your course GPA will be recalculated. This means application of Academic Safety Net grades and course GPA might change.